Safe As Houses
by EffulgentInara
Summary: A mission goes wrong, and Kakashi is given a new assignment...or is it fulfilling an old promise? [Post timeskip, eventual spoilers for Kakashi Gaiden]
1. The rain

**Disclaimers**: Don't own 'em, just using them as a vent for my creative outlets until I come up with characters of my own that people like enough to write fanfic about ;)

**Safe As Houses: Chapter One**

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The grey sky that had covered Konoha all morning finally let loose its rain. Shoppers hurried for cover, children squealed and ran inside, and two young ninjas stood in their training area and got soaked.

"Three hours..." Sakura was so angry that Naruto was pretty sure that he could see steam rising where the rain hit her. "He's kept us waiting **THREE HOURS**! That's inexcusable, even for him!"

"Come on, Sakura, I'm sure Kakashi-sensei has a good excuse this time."

"Oh, he always has an excuse, it's just never a good one."

"Maybe we should just leave, go get some ramen, huh?"

"No, I want to be here when Kakashi-sensei arrives so I can beat the living daylights out of him."

"Well, why don't we at least head for the trees so we don't get as wet?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. A young woman with an umbrella ran into the clearing, shaking the rain from her sleeves.

"Shizune-san?" Naruto broke into a wide grin as he recognized the Hokage's assistant. "What are you doing out here?"

"Where's Kakashi?"

"Who knows?" Sakura fumed. "Wherever that lazy bastard usually hides."

"He's supposed to meet us here, but he's really late - why are you looking for him?"

"He should've returned from a mission early this morning, but he never reported in. The gate sentinels say they never saw him come in - though with Kakashi that doesn't mean much - and we haven't been able to find him anywhere in the village. Tsunade-sama sent me to see if the two of you were supposed to meet him today."

"We were, but...he's three hours late..." Sakura's anger quickly washed away with the rain and a knot of worry tightened around her chest. "He's been late coming back from missions before, right? I mean, he's late for everything else."

"He probably got lost, or decided to wait out the rain with one of those perv books...don't you think, Sakura?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Yeah, maybe..." Sakura thought a moment before turning to Shizune "Please tell Tsunade-sama that we'll start searching as well. Maybe we can come up with someplace else to look."

"Thank you - please report to Tsunade-sama as soon as you find anything. Otherwise, please check in at dusk." With a curt bow, Shizune hurried away again into the rain.

"We'll find him, no problem - right, Naruto? After all, you've been around that old pervert long enough to know where a younger pervert might hang out."

"Yeah...yeah, I guess so." Naruto brightened a little. "After all, it's two against one. There's no way we won't find him!"

"And then, we'll make him pay for making us wait in the rain and worry about him!"

"You were the one making us wait in the rain, I wanted to wait in the ramen shop..." Naruto mumbled to himself as he followed Sakura back towards the village.


	2. The return

**Disclaimers**: Don't own 'em, just using them as a vent for my creative outlets until I come up with characters of my own that people like enough to write fanfic about ;)

**A/N**: Sorry about the delay, I've been suffering from a writer's block blind spot - I've had later chapters done for months, but just couldn't get chapter two into shape. So, I've cut it into two shorter chapters so I can post a little more while I try to fix what will now be chapter three.

**Safe As Houses: Chapter Two

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**

Tsunade was pacing the floor of her office watching the cloud-filtered glow of the sun sink beyond the Hokage Monument when Naruto and Sakura entered.

"Did you..."

"No luck." Sakura cut her off with a shake of her head. "Have all of the people looking for him reported in yet?"

"You were the last ones." Tsunade pulled a bottle from the bottom drawer of her desk and filled a small glass. "You might as well have a seat and join me."

They obediently took seats on the couch and watched the Hokage drink in silence for a few minutes.

"The rain's getting worse, isn't it?" Sakura sighed.

"Yes..."

Suddenly, a crash of thunder coincided with the office door being thrown open. In the doorway stood a bedraggled figure clutching a scroll case, water dripping from muddy silver hair that had finally given in to gravity.

"Kakashi!" Tsunade stood up abruptly from her desk.

"They knew." he tossed the scroll case into the office and staggered away.

"Kakashi-sensei, wait! You're more than twelve hours late, I think we need a better explanation than that!"

Sakura jumped from the couch and ran after him, intending to drag him back into the office if needed. He cried out in pain and stumbled as she grabbed his arm firmly.

"Could've sworn...got that back into the socket..."

She drew her hand away quickly and looked at the smear of fresh blood on her palm. For the first time, she noticed the dark stain on his arm, slowly spreading and running down towards his wrist.

"You're hurt..." Sakura could feel the anger from earlier coming back. "You're hurt, and you were just going to wander off somewhere alone? What were you thinking? You need to go to...Kakashi-sensei?"

He had passed out while she was shouting at him and lay slumped against the wall just outside Tsunade's door, still clutching his injured arm.

"Sakura, help me get him to the hospital. Naruto, go spread the word that Kakashi's finally made it home." Tsunade gave him a significant look. "No need for too many details."

With a nod, Naruto headed down the hallway as Shizune passed to help her teacher, and was soon on his way through the storm towards ramen.


End file.
